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Millet is a type of hardy, nutritious grass seed that has been cultivated by humans for thousands of years. It is highly adaptable, with a wealth of functions, providing food and sustenance for both livestock and humans. We say “it,” but actually millet is an umbrella term for at least 50 different varieties of this staple grain. They are drought resistant, have a rapid growth and harvest cycle, and tend to be gluten-free, so millets are experiencing a sort of renaissance among people with food allergies. But why are we going on about ancient agriculture? What does it have to do with scabs on cats?

It can be alarming to pet your cat and find scabs. This feline skin condition is known as miliary dermatitis, and it takes its name from scabrous sores that resemble millets. Like millet itself, this skin allergy affecting cats is not just one thing, but a symptomatic name that encompasses a range of potential allergens and reactions to them. Let’s look more closely at the possible reasons for scabs on cats to appear on your kitty’s back, neck and tail.

What is feline miliary dermatitis?

You may be able to prevent scabs on cats before they happen. Photography by Anna Dudko/Thinkstock.

Because cat skin allergies have so many possible causes and provocations, what we refer to as miliary dermatitis goes by a number of names. Ones you may have heard include the feline acne, feline eczema, along with the colorful and nonspecific “blotch,” the highly descriptive “scabby cat disease,” as well as flea allergy dermatitis. This last term describes the most common cause of scabs on cats and the one that confounds most cat owners. More on that in a moment.

There are a wide variety of causes of miliary dermatitis in cats, external and internal, but they express themselves in the same ways and with the same set of symptoms. We’ve mentioned cat scabs, but these are only the most obvious and telling signs. Prior to the appearance of scabs, you may notice your cat begin a regimen of outrageously excessive self-grooming. Now, cats spend nearly half their waking life licking and cleaning themselves, so is there a distinction?

When dermatitis is involved, skin inflammation’s first yield is an itchy rash, which can be difficult to perceive, depending on the length of a cat’s coat. One sure symptom of miliary dermatitis is repeated attention to — licking, scratching or biting — a specific and localized area. As the rash spreads, a cat may not only groom obsessively, but begin balding at those sites. Areas typically affected are the neck and the spot where the tail meets the trunk.

Scabs on cats are a symptom of miliary dermatitis. (Photography via Wikimedia Commons)

Scabs on cats at the back, neck and the base of the tail, then, are not caused by the allergy itself, but by the cat’s singleminded focus on getting relief from the allergy. The more intently a cat scratches, licks and bites at himself, and the longer the condition progresses, the more scabs will form. Scratching at scabs clears a path for further, secondary infections by usually harmless bacteria that live on cats.

Now, there are rashes and lesions present prior to the cat’s self-grooming traumas, and these arise from a number of possible agents. Things that can cause these allergic reactions and start the ball rolling toward scabs on cats:

By far, the most common cause of miliary dermatitis in cats and the scabs on cats that accompany the condition is the bite of a flea.

Flea allergy dermatitis in cats

Since a huge number of domestic cats spend most of their time indoors, we can anticipate the cries of protest and alarm. How can a cat express allergic reactions to fleas if she has no fleas? If the home is regularly cleaned? If the cat is taking preventative medication or wears a flea collar? For cats with flea allergies, especially those with sensitive skin, or younger cats and kittens with still-developing immune systems, the distinction between having fleas and being bitten by a flea is inconsequential.

All cats, indoor cats in particular, are fastidious groomers. Their rigorous cleaning routines mean that even cats who encounter fleas occasionally will not necessarily have them crawling and bouncing all over her body. In other words, a cat does not need to “have fleas,” per se, to experience the ill effects of a bite. If a cat gets out of the house during the warmer parts of the year when fleas are in abundance, even a brief period of supervised Caturday excitement can expose her to fleas.

For cats with sensitive skin, indoor cats with limited exposure to the natural world, or those whose homes are kept so immaculate that they don’t even wear flea collars, the saliva from a single flea bite is sufficient to provoke an allergic reaction. This condition, called flea bite hypersensitivity, is an increasingly common, if not the leading, cause of skin allergies among cats and dogs. It is also the first step toward the formation of millet-shaped scabs on cat backs, necks and tails.

Treating cat dermatitis and, in turn, treating scabs on cats

Diagnosing miliary dermatitis is fairly easy for a practiced veterinarian. The placement of the rash, lesions or scabs on your cat — depending on how far advanced the problem is — gives a vet a clearer idea of the true source of the allergic reaction and a good start to a reliable method of treatment. Determining the precise source of your cat’s skin allergy is key.

For cats who already have sores from excessive grooming where flea bites are at fault, knowing that they have a flea allergy is no condemnation of you as a cat owner or your home cleanliness. Cortisone injections can help alleviate persistent itching, and, if necessary, antibiotics may be prescribed to treat existing wounds.

Going forward with knowledge of the cat’s allergy, preventative measures may be counseled by the vet. Indoor cats who like to venture outdoors supervised may be cautioned against it, or regular use of anti-flea prophylactics may be recommended. Implementing prevention strategies might see you and your cat changing your normal routine, but being consistent with the new routine will ensure your cat doesn’t suffer from recurrent bouts of miliary dermatitis.

Tell us: Have you ever seen scabs on your cat? How did you treat them? What was the cause?

Keiki, female Tabby cat, is allergic to all Grain fillers in the cat food. The best thing i did was to change to food WITHOUT grains included. She is unable to have flea treatment directly on her skin also. To resolve both allergy’s, I did the following with my Vet’s suggestion. The flea problem cleared up with using a liquid swallow treatment in place of applying directly on the skin, and no irritation from this treatment.
The scabs are no longer a problem, or the acne under the chin because I switched to a formula without any meal, corn, etc, in the food. She gets a wonderful source of all vitamins and cat food that she is crazy about. This also stops any fussy choices on what she want to eat; BEYOND is the choice of all of her food, wet and dry.
There are 3 cats in the house and she is the only one that has allergies, so what i do to control her allergies works in case she should steal a little bit of the other cats food by dosing her with Cetirizine Hydrochloride. It is over the counter and inexpensive. Meds are Easy to dose, by stuffing the tiny pill into a “Pill Pocket”, and no problem getting her to eat it, she loves it. No more scabs, chin black bumps,irritation on overall skin area and no more chewing, biting and digging at irritated skin. We are both happy cats!!

I have a kitten that is breaking out on her back we find out that it is the cat food that we where giving her so know I have to change her cat food my other cat don’t have it but she does what the hell

My Silver Bengal had a skin allergy. He was adopted but had been tested by his previous owner. They could never determine what he was allergic to. Sometimes he’d get this big ulcer looking thing on his lip and other times it was on the underside of his tail. It was white and scaley. It was some type of granuloma but I can’t remember the whole name. The only thing that would make it go away were the allergy shots. I unfortunately did not know that one of the side affects of the shots was diabetes. He became diabetic and had to have 2 insulin shots a day. His insulin was $100 bucks for a 28 day supply. So please ask your vet about the side effects if you do decide to give your cat the allergy shots.

I use Vetericyn animal wound spray on my cat’s back, all the way down. It also helps with sores and scabs. What the product does is, in about thirty seconds after application, begin killing the germs, working to halt what is going on, and it actually helps the skin to heal. Safe to be ingested by animals, too. I have been using the hydrogel as well as the liquid forms of Vetericyn and both are excellent and easy to apply. I have to check and make sure the liquid reaches the skin under all my cat’s thick, short hair but the time and effort is worth the look on her face once relief has been achieved. These are my go-to products which have saved my wallet from further flattening and weight loss and my cat from the stress of a car ride and vet officevisit.

My cat had the dryness at the base of the tail and it was pretty bad. I have been treating it with hand lotion with aloe vera in it. In 6 days it is 80% gone. I would suspect that within a week it till be a thing of the past.

IVE BROUGHT MY INDOOR CAT IN TWICE AND SHE RECEIVED TWO INJECTIONS TO CLEAR UP MILIARY DERMATITIS. IT’S BEEN OVER A MONTH AND MY CAT STILL HAS BUMPS/SCABS BY THE BASE OF HIS TAIL.

I HAVE BEEN GENTLY BRUSHING USING A FURMINATOR (MY CAT IS A HIYMALAIN) AND THE LITTLE SCABS HAVE BEEN COMING OFF. HE ALLOWS ME TO GENTLY BRUSH BUT IF I SPEND TOO MUCH TIME DOING IT, HE WILL MEOW AND TAP ME TO GO AWAY. SOMETIMES, HE WILL LICK HIMSELF COMPULSIVELY UNDER HIS CHIN WHEN I DO GENTLY BRUSH. (THERE ARE NO BUMPS UNDER HIS CHIN). THE LITTLE LIGHT BROWN SCABS COME OFF.

AM I DOING MY CAT MORE HARM THEN GOOD BY BRUSHING HIM GENTLY TO REMOVE THE SCABS? OR….IS IT NECESSARY I BRING MY CAT BACK TO THE VET AGAIN??

Hi, Im a vet tech from israel so im sorry if i missppeld my answer:
my cat have it too. U should not try to take it off cause it might egatate the area… the only thing that can help the simptoms are steroids but it wont stop the allergy from coming back.. u can try alternative medicines like herbs and acupancture. Plus at your vet clinic u can have an allergy test for many kind of allergeyns.. and than to be sure your cat is avvoiding them.. this can only work for a house cat who does not go outside..
My cat is an outdoor and indoor so sadly i dont really have anything to do… good luck!

If it’s tiny black spots under the chin it’s cat acne. My vet told me to put diluted peroxide on it. I did & it went away fast. But another indoor cat who gets flea treatments also has the black scab bumps under his neck,not on his chin. And he’s had them before. It got so bad he pulled out his hair & went bald on his belly. At the time I thought it was stress & I took the stressor away. But I couldn’t stand him fastidiously pulling out his hair. I took him back to the vet & he said it was from an allergy. He gave him a shot to relieve the itching & gave me a bottle of Prednisone to give him every day at home. The prednisone did the trick. The scabs went away & his hair grew back. He has scabs under his neck again. So it’s time to get more prednisone. Hope this helps.

my cat too was given prednisone and the scabs she had cleared up really quick, however they’re coming back and she was still left with one tiny one on her neck after the treatment course finished, I assume she needs a tiny bit of a stronger dose than the 1mg she was given or a longer course.

Hi, im still confused as to what has caused my cat to suddenly develop small lumps under her chin. She’s indoors only, is treated with Advantage Multi monthly, eats the same food for years and has been healthy. And eats from glass bowls.
These bumps literally appeared in the last week. I scraped one off of her chin this morning and its black with no blood but there are several.
Should i start cleansing and applying an antibiotic ointment? I don’t have a lot of money for an expensive vet visit. Thankyou so much.

I am in the exact same situation. I have 3 cats and only my youngest, inside only cat is affected. After reading this, I am not going to remove the scabs, as I don’t want to risk an infection. I am thinking of cleaning the areas with dilute peroxide.

Good luck with your fur baby. I hope we are all healthy and scab free soon!

Hi Sylvia, the black bumps you’re describing is definitely cat acne & can be caused by a food allergy or dish allergy. My cat even sometimes gets them from stress.
The fastest way to clear it up is to make sure you keep it super clean. Wash the chin with hypoallergenic soap and change the dishes to pottery or china. No plastics. Also switch to a hypoallergenic cat food if you can. I switched to an all natural brand & it cleared right up.
Give it 1 week of regular cleaning & new dishes, it will go away fast.

Hi Sylvia. Since I changed the water and food bowls to metal the acne under the chin cleared up nicely. Now Maya has bumps on her lower back I’m thinking of getting a metal liter box to see if this helps as she now has plastic.

I would not use peroxide as it is carcinogenic get natural remedies from neilsyard they have quallified practitioners and can give good advice on allergies even for animals stereoides are not good to give as all medication has bad side affects my cat had blood cancer was given four weeks to live got numerous herbs and he lived for five and a half years always google side affects for any medication your be supprised at what you read

I honestly believe the advantage make it either activate or get much worse. 2 of my 4 have it so bad and the prednisolone shots are £65 per 5 weeks when I know it costs literally pennies as I have an autoimmune disease that means I take it. A whole months supply at 40mg daily costs justv 69 pence.
I’m sick of the cats being poorly and being mugged by the Vet. They had no fleas but the vet remonstrated it was a flea allergy. I would advise anyone thinking of using advantage to think differently to how to deal with it.

If your kitty is indoors only why are you using flea medicine? These topicals are extremely toxic and can cause health issues long term. There are safer, natural solutions like diatomaceous earth if fleas are a problem. As for the feline acne, it may be caused by a food allergy. I was able to clear up my cat’s feline acne by clearing the food allergy with a technique called ECR that my naturopath does. She has been acne free for many years and no longer has an allergy to chicken!